29 Apr Blessed are the Merciful for they shall Obtain Mercy
Some scriptures require a bigger ‘meditation’ response than others. The beatitudes are so countercultural that I have to let them sit in my mind, steeping, in order to receive and believe them. ‘Blessed are the merciful.’ In our urban, digital, cancel-culture, social keyboard warrior society, mercy is a concept that is not often acknowledged. In fact, although I felt drawn to write about mercy for our Beatitutdes theme this month, I wasn’t entirely sure what it meant to me.
His mercy in scripture
As I was pondering mercy, two specific passages I read during my devotional times displayed spoke to me about God’s merciful nature:
“I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the Lord.
“It shall come to pass in that day
That I will answer,” says the Lord;
“I will answer the heavens,
And they shall answer the earth.
The earth shall answer
With grain,
With new wine,
And with oil;
They shall answer Jezreel.
Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;
Then I will say to those who were not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ” Hosea 2:19-23
This is a prophecy about the Gentiles who would be grafted into the family of God through Jesus’ sacrifice. We were once outside of the jurisdiction of mercy but God chose to extend it to us. The context of Hosea is a story of profound mercy. Hosea is called to prophetically wed a prostitute who is addicted to her life of sexual promiscuity. He loses her over and over again but diligently seeks her out each time to bring her back home. She eventually winds up in a slave market. She is standing naked on the podium and Hosea pays her slave price to cover her body with his coat and lead her back home once more.
Hosea’s wife surely deserved to be left to the results of her wanton wanderings. Instead she is given a protective covering. She is shown mercy. How many times have I wandered away from God’s? Too many times and in states too shameful to describe in such a public forum!
The next story hinted towards God’s mercy was the woman with the issue of blood:
Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”
But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” Luke 8:43-48
I think absolutely any story of Jesus’ healing miracles would fit into a discussion of God’s mercy. Jesus has such mercy on people in their suffering. Sometimes our earthly view of suffering can be harsh and judgemental. Surely this was the woman’s lot in life? She was born with an issue of blood and that was her cross to bear. Her physical suffering was a trial that would teach her to have a humble character. At least that’s how I would reason it in my human mind. But she saw something about Jesus. She saw the compassion and mercy he extended to people. She had faith that he was a man who would be willing to take away what others had told her to accept. I want to be like her.
Situational relief
She believed that he would do more than express pity and sympathy. In discussing the ‘blessed are the merciful’, Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones explains:
“It does not mean pity; it means a great desire and indeed an endeavour to do something to relieve a situation.”*
He differentiates grace from mercy:
“Grace is especially associated with men in their sins; mercy is especially associated with men in their misery… grace looks down upon sin as a whole, mercy looks especially upon the miserable consequences of sin.”*
I get the feeling that God’s mercy means I won’t always ‘get what I deserve’. While grace leads me to favour and eternal blessing, freedom from the slavery of sin, mercy is a covering over my mistakes and the consequences of living in a fallen world.
Extending mercy to others
When was the last time I extended mercy to someone? When was the last time I protected someone from pain, or from hurt, from the harsh conditions of life in this world? I struggle to come up with anything! I feel like the Levite priest who crossed to the other side of the road, fearing contamination. I remember hearing an observation about people’s attitude towards the merciful actions of Mother Theresea: everyone respects her. But no one wants to be her.
Prayer
Lord, You desire that as recipients of your mercy we are in turn merciful to others. Help us not to hide from others’ needs but to seek to urgently relieve them of pain and suffering. Remove earthly judgemental attitudes, remove despair, remove actionless pity, and instead give us the heart Jesus had when he so mercifully healed so many people. Amen.
*References
Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (1971). Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Kate is the current owner and editor of Cup of Faith. She is a blogger who loves Jesus, loves to read, and currently lives in Johannesburg with her husband.
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